Mop

ABSTRACT

A mop member having a frame including a concave surface on the bottom of the frame and a porous, bristly material impaled upon protruding attaching members and adapted to trap soil and dust. A porous cloth, impregnated with oils, extends over the bristly material, retaining the loose soil and dust in the bristly material. The porous cloth is attached to the frame of the mop.

United States Patent Lockett [451 Oct. 17, 1972 1 MOP 3,528,120 9/1970Lindstrom "15/228 72 Inventor; Eugene Locke, 1580 Stewal.t 3,156,96511/1964 Howard ..15/210R Street, Reno, 89502 1,984,990 12/1934 Reineman..15/209 AH 1,557,473 10/1925 Cross ..15/209 AH [22] May 26,19713,199,136 8/1965 George ..15/231 [21] A ].N ;146,399 1,258,637 3/1918Snelling ..15/104.93

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 874,151,Nov. 5, 1969.

US. Cl ,.l5/l04.94, 15/231 Int. Cl....A47l 13/17, A471 13/46, A471 13/22Field of Search ..15/118, 104.94, 104.93, 231, 15/144 R, 208,114,115,209 R, 210 R,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I Schultz ...15/104.94 X

Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Attorney-Ernest L. Brown [57] ABSTRACTA mop member having a frame including a concave surface on the bottom ofthe frame and a porous, bristly material impaled upon protrudingattaching members and adapted to trap soil and dust. A porous cloth,impregnated with oils, extends over the bristly material, retaining theloose soil and dust in the bristly material. The porous cloth isattached to the frame of the mop.

14 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDW 11 I972 Ml NERAL CLEANING MIXTUREAMYL-METATE I NVEN'IDR.

EUGENE C. Lpc -r'r ATI'OQHBY MOP BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application, Ser. No. 874,151, filedNov. 5, 1969, for a Cleaning Device by Eugene C. Lockett, alias GeneLockett.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,258,637, issued Mar. 5, 1918, to Walter O. Snelling forDust-Reducing Material, describes and claims the general concept,without a drawing, of the use of a fabric lightly charged with an oilhaving an affinity for dust and a non-flammable oily solvent for theoil. Both the oil and the solvent are insoluble in water and of lowvolatility.

A typical fabric for a dustcloth is described and claimed in U.S. Pat.No. 2,081,370, which issued May 25, 1937, to H. A. Secrist, for aFabric.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,855 issued Aug. 6, 1963, to L. M. Nash for aCleaning Implement. The Nash implement uses a facing or cushion ofeasily deformable material such as foam or sponge rubber on the lowersurface of the mop head. A cleaning fabric is placed over the rubber orfoam base. The cleaning fabric is preferably a non-woven fabric which ischemically treated in such a manner that dust adheres to its surface.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,136 issued Aug. 10, 1965, to P. F. George for a MopHaving Disposable Sheets. The

George mop has a typical mop head which appears to be made of spongerubber. A plurality of sheets of absorptive paper material, selected tohave high wet strength and capable of permitting the flow of fluidtherethrough while retaining dirt contained in the fluid, are placedover the sponge mop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The head of the mop of this inventionis preferably made of a substantially rigid material such as wood orplastic material. The under side of the head of the mop is concave toreceive a cushion or batt of porous, fibrous material such as glassfiber, rubberized hair, or similar material. In the concave region ofthe under side of the mop head are a plurality of sharp protrudingmembers which engage the batt of porous, fibrous material, therebyresisting relative motion between the mop head and the fibrous material.A gauze of porous, cleaning-mixture impregnated cloth, such ascheesecloth or the like, substantially completely covers the batt ofporous fibrous material. The impregnated covering is attached,preferably on the ends, to the head of the mop. The sheet of impregnatedcloth is preferably impregnated with a cleaning mixture made up ofamyl-acetate, white mineral oil, perchloroethylene, and mineral sealoil.

As configured, not only the outer covering but also the porous batt ofmaterial is disposable. The flat bristly surface of the batt of materialprotrudes through the impregnated cheesecloth, thereby loosening thesoil. The batt also serves as a trap for the soil and dust which iscollected by the impregnated outer cloth.

Instead of individual sharp protruding members engaging the batt in theregion of the concave portion of the mop head, a plurality of ribs maybe formed on the concave surface, such ribs engaging the batt ofmaterial.

It is therefore an object of this invention to clean floors in anefficient manner.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel disposable mopwhich is adapted to perform such efficient cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects ,will be apparent fromthe following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an assembled mop;

FIG. 2 is a view, partly in section, taken at 2 2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented view of a fibrous porous batt and a porouscovering of a typical embodiment used in this invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a method of producing the cleaning mixtureused in the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the figures a mop head 10 isattached to a handle 12, for example, by a bearing 14 encircling a dowel16 which is attached to the mop head 10.

The mop head 10 is shown rectangular but, indeed, may be square, oval,elliptical and the like. The mop head 10 is preferably made of a rigidmaterial such as, for example, wood or plastic material. The under sideof the mop head 10 has a concave surface 20. The surface 20 has aplurality of engaging members such as 22, 24, and 26, for engaging thefibrous batt 28. The engaging members, such as 22, 24, and 26, may beribs extending at least a part of the distance along the concave surface16. Alternatively the members 22, 24, and 26 may be piercing members,such as nails and the like.

The fibrous batt 28 preferably has an arcuate upper surface 30 whichapproximately conforms to the curva-' ture of the concave surface 20.The batt 28 may be fabricated, for example, of glass fiber or rubberizedhair. More generally the batt 28 is of fibrous, porous material whichhas tough bristles to aid the cleaning process and which has pores largeenough to trap dirt.

Around the outside of the batt 28 is a gauze of treated, porous clothsuch as a single layer of cheesecloth or the cloth described and claimedin U.S. Pat. No. 2,081,370 to Secrist. The cover cloth 32 is preferablytreated with a cleaning mixture to aid in attracting dirt and holdingdown dust. In a preferred embodiment the cover material 32 has end tabs34 and 36 which are adapted to fit under clamps 38 and 40. It should bestressed that the end tabs and the clamps are not necessary, for thecover material 32 in many instances is adequately held by stuffing itinto the recess 40 around the dowel 16.

The cover material 32 is impregnated with a cleaning mixture. Thecleaning mixture is preferably a mixture of amyl-acetate, white mineraloil, perchloro-ethylene and mineral seal oil. It is preferred that themineral seal oil have a dye therein so that one may observe theuniformity of the mixture.

A first preferred cleaning mixture uses amyl-acetate,perchloro-ethylene, a holding oil such as a white mineral oil, and asaturating oil or wetting agent such as a mineral seal oil. Using 24fluid ounces of perchloroethylene as a base, one uses between 30 and 40fluid ounces of holding oil and approximately 72 ounces of mineral sealoil. Amyl-acetate is added in an amount substantially equal to one fluidounce per gallon of mixture.

A second mixture which produces good results is based upon 32 fluidounces of tetrachlorethylene mixed with 56 fluid ounces of saturatingoil such as mineral seal oil and 40 ounces of white mineral oil.

The critical material, based upon experiment, is the white mineral oil.Less than 20 percent in any mix causes the mix to be dry and inefficientin collecting dirt, dust and the like. Over 35 percent causes streakmg.

The tetrachloroethylene used in combination with the oils preserves theconsistency, and it prolongs the life of the treated cloth. It also actsas a fire retardant and reduces the danger of spontaneous combustion.

The outer covering of cheesecloth, or the like, is treated by soaking inthe cleaning solution in the ratio of from eight to ten fluid ounces ofthe cleaning solution to a pound of cheesecloth.

Typically pads of cheesecloth, or similar material, used for the outercovering 32 are dipped into the cleaning mixture. The mixture is pouredover the cloth or the cloth is soaked in the mixture. For additionalpenetration and uniformity the mixture may be applied under pressure tothe cloth.

Thus, the apparatus of this invention is a combination of structure andmaterials adapted to produce a highly efficient mop with disposableportions thereof. Further, the fibrous material 28, whose bristlespenetrate the outer covering 32, helps in loosening dirt. The treatedcloth 32 attracts the dirt and grime, and the dirt and grime penetratesthrough the cloth 32 into the interstices of the porous material 28where it is stored. The use of cheesecloth and the like as a covermaterial 32, particularly with the cleaning mixture described, resiststhe tendency to grow slick and is a highly efficient dust collector.

The disposable components can be packaged together. For example, 24cheesecloths may be packaged with one rubberized hair or fiber glasspad.

Although the invention has been described in detail above, it is notintended that the invention should be limited thereby, but only inaccordance with that description taken in combination with the appendedclaims.

lclaim:

l. A dust mop comprising:

a mop head;

a batt of bristly, porous material attached to the bottom of said mophead; and

a' porous gauze covering the exterior surface of said batt, withbristles of said bristly material penetrating said gauze.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, in whichthe bottom surface of saidmop head has a concave contour and the top surface of said batt has anarcuate contour substantially matching said concave contour.

3. Apparatus as recited in claim 2 in which said mop head is elongated,and further comprising means within said concave contour of said mophead to engage said batt to resist relative motion between said batt andsaid mop head.

4. Apparatus as recited in claim 3 in which said means for resistingrelative motion comprises a plurality of ridges extending at least partof the length of said mop head within said concave contoured portionthereof. I

5. Apparatus as recited m claim 3 wherein said means for resistingrelative motion comprises a plurality of penetrating members attached tosaid mop head and adapted to penetrate said batt.

6. Apparatus as recited in claim 5 in which said penetrating members arenail-like members.

7. Apparatus as recited in claim 3 and further comprising means forattaching said gauze to said mop head.

8. Apparatus as recited in claim 7 in which said attaching meanscomprises clips on the ends of said mop head.

9. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which said gauze is impregnatedwith a cleaning mixture.

10. Apparatus as recited in claim 9 in which said cleaning mixture is amixture of perchloro-ethylene, white mineral oil, and mineral seal oil.

11. Apparatus as recited in claim 10 in which said cleaning mixturefurther comprises amyl-acetate.

12. Apparatus as recited in claim 11 in which said cleaning mixturefurther comprises a dye for observing the uniformity of penetration ofsaid cleaning mixture into said gauze.

13. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which said batt material is glassfiber.

2. Apparatus as recited in claim 1, in which the bottom surface of saidmop head has a concave contour and the top surface of said batt has anarcuate contour substantially matching said concave contour. 3.Apparatus as recited in claim 2 in which said mop head is elongated, andfurther comprising means within said concave contour of said mop head toengage said batt to resist relative motion between said batt and saidmop head.
 4. Apparatus as recited in claim 3 in which said means forresisting relative motion comprises a plurality of ridges extending atleast part of the length of said mop head within said concave contouredportion thereof.
 5. Apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said meansfor resisting relative motion comprises a plurality of penetratingmembers attached to said mop head and adapted to penetrate said batt. 6.Apparatus as recited in claim 5 in which said penetrating members arenail-like members.
 7. Apparatus as recited in claim 3 and furthercomprising means for attaching said gauze to said mop head.
 8. Apparatusas recited in claim 7 in which said attaching means comprises clips onthe ends of said mop head.
 9. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 in whichsaid gauze is impregnated with a cleaning mixture.
 10. Apparatus asrecited in claim 9 in which said cleaning mixture is a mixture ofperchloro-ethylene, white mineral oil, and mineral seal oil. 11.Apparatus as recited in claim 10 in which said cleaning mixture furthercomprises amyl-acetate.
 12. Apparatus as recited in claim 11 in whichsaid cleaning mixture further comprises a dye for observing theuniformity of penetration of said cleaning mixture into said gauze. 13.Apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which said batt material is glassfiber.
 14. Apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which said batt materialis rubberized hair.